Loom lay



June 1951 E. H. ASHTON ET AL 2,557,044

LOOM LAY Filed Aug. 17, 1946 4 Sheets-Sheet 1 7 EVERETT H. ASHTON ROBERT G. MALLARD y zklarney June 12, 1951 E. H. ASHTON ET AL LOOM LAY Filed Aug. 17, 1946 4 Sheets-Sheet 2 lnuzzviar EVERETT H ASHTON ROBERT G. MALLARD 5y 2: m

Harng/ E. H. ASHTON ET AL June 12, 1951 LOOM LAY 4 sheets-sheet 5 Filed Aug. 17, 1946 EVERETT H. ASHTON ROBERT e. 'MALLARD June 12, 1951 E. H. ASHTON ET AL,

LOOM LAY 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 Filed Aug. 17, 1946 EVERETT H. ASHTON ROBERT G. MALLARD Patented June 12, 1951 LOOM LAY Everett H. Ashton, Jersey City, N. J., and Robert G. Mallard, New York, N. Y., assignors, by mesne assignments, to Steel and Alloy Tank Company, Newark, N. J a'corporation of New Jersey Application August 17, 1946, Serial No. 691,338

9 Claims.

The present invention relates generally to improvements in fly shuttle looms and, as illustrated'herein, relates more particularly to improvements in lays and in shuttle boxes therefor.

Satisfactory operation of modern high speed fly shuttle looms depends to a great extent upon the satisfactory picking and boxing of the shuttle into and out of the shuttle box at each end of the lay. During the major portion of itsflight, the shuttle is confined between the shuttle race and, the upper shed of the warp and any substantial deviation of its flight may result either in warp breakage or improper boxing of the shuttle To insure that the flight of the shuttle will be substantially straight, the picker must be properly positioned for movement in a line coinciding substantially with the center line of the shuttle and with the intended path of travel of the shuttle. The shuttle boxes must also be accurately alined to insure that the shuttle will be properlydirected during the picking of the shuttle out of the shuttle box.

is extremely difficult in many cases properly to'aline, and maintain in aline-ment, the shuttle ,s because of the manner in which lays have tofore been constructed. The lay beam is ordinarily formed of wood and warps and twists sufiiciently to cause misalinement of the metal lay-ends which are fixed to the ends of the lay beam. The lay beam and the back box plates are fixed to the upper end portions of the lay swords, and if the lay beam is warped even slightly or the swords twisted, the machined surfaces of the lay ends and back box plates will not be properly alined. The back box plates are secured to machined surfaces of the swords and, hence, it is often necessary to shim these plates to bring them into proper alinement. Furthermore, no adequate provision is made to permit proper squaring of the reed with the raceplate and proper alinement of the reed relatively to the forward alined surfaces of the back box plates. It is essential, if excessive wear on both the reed and the shuttle is to be prevented, to set the reed back a distance suflicient to prevent rubbing of the shuttle against the reed as the shuttle enters the Warp shed. Shimming or other adjustment of the back box plate is also objectionable since by so doing the alinement of the picker stick slot and the picker stick with the loom shuttle is affected. Thus, adjustment of one or more of the lay parts results in throwing the other parts of the lay out of proper alinement or adjustment with the others and as a result alinement and adjustment of the lay parts a lay wherein the reed may be readily and quickly squared with the raceplate. To this end, the hand rail is adjustably secured to the swords in such a manner that the reed is not only quickly and accurately squared; but is also readily locked in adjusted position without any danger of disturbing the adjustment.

Another object of the invention is to provide box plates which are mounted independently of the swords and consequently, are not affected by any misalinement or inaccuracy of the machined portions of the swords. As illustrated, the back box plates are formed as a part of the lay .ends and thus are free of the swords and any reed adjustments that may be made.

A still further object of the invention is to provide means for maintaining the picker stick in proper position in alinement with the center line of the shuttle regardless of the adjustments necessary to aline the back box plates.

Another object of the invention is to improve generally upon the construction and operation of fly shuttle looms.

With the above and other objects in view, the invention will now be described with particular reference to the accompanying drawings which illustrate a preferred embodiment of the invention and in which:

Fig. I is a view in front elevation of a loom in which the lay of the present invention is illustrated;

Fig. II is a view in side elevation of the loom shown in Fig. I;

Fig. III is a detail plan view of the lay beam;

Fig. IV is a view in front elevation of the lay beam;

Fig. V is a detail View taken along V-V of Fig. I11;

'Fig. VI is a detail view taken along line VIVI of Fig. III;

Fig. VII is a detail view taken along line VII-:VII of Fig. III;

Fig. VIII is a view in elevation of the right hand end of the lay;

Fig. IX is a detail view of the hand rail;

Fig. X is a detail view of the hand rail adjusting means;

Fig. )H is a detail view taken along XIXI of Fig. IX.

The present invention is illustrated as embodied in a loom having double web side frames i6 and 12. The loom is provided with the usual cloth take-up roll l4 and take-up roll i6 which is operated by any suitable take-up mechanism to take up the cloth as it is woven. The loom is also provided with the usual manual and automatic stopping and starting mechanisms which are omitted from the drawings for the purpose of clearness and since they are not necessary to a complete understanding of the present invention.

The loom is provided with a crank-shaft [8 which extends entirely across the loom and is rotatably supported in suitable bearings mounted in each of the webs of each of the side frames of the loom. The crank-shaft I8 is rotated by suitable driving connections from a source of power 26. The crank-shaft I8 is provided adjacent each end with a crank 22 which is mounted between the webs of each side frame. Since the bearings for the crank-shaft are mounted in each web, the crank-shaft is suitably supported and twisting or bending thereof under load is reduced to a minimum. As a result, the crank-shaft may be made lighter and vibration is minimized.

Each crank 22 is provided with a connecting rod 24 which is connected to a sword 26 pivotally supported on stub shafts 28 which are supported between each pair of webs in suitable bearings 30. The stub shafts 23 are thus supported in the closely spaced bearings 30 which permit the stub shafts 28 to be made lighter. The connection between each crank 22 and each sword 26 permits the swords to be reciprocated forwardly and rearwardly in unison. The swords 26 are rigidly connected together adjacent to their upper end portions by a horizontally extending lay beam 32. Each sword 26 is provided with laterally extending portions which are machined to receive the lay beam 32. The lay beam 32 is rigidly secured to each sword 26 by cap screws 34 which extend through suitable openings in each sword and into threaded openings in the lay beam 32.

The lay beam 32 is preferably formed of magnesium alloy but it is evident that any other suitable, rigid, light weight alloy or construction may be used if so desired. As illustrated, the present lay beam 32 is roughly T-shaped in section and includes a relatively wide horizontal portion 36 which terminates at its rearward portion in a short substantially vertical upstanding portion 33 and a depending portion 40. The portions 38 and 46 provide vertical stiffness and rigidity while the horizontal portion 36 provides stiffness and rigidity against horizontally exerted forces. The lay beam 32 is preferably extruded in the cross-sectional shape described just above but it is evident that it can be machined to such shape from a casting if so desired. The lay beam 32 is flat and straight from end to end and is substantially unaffected by atmospheric conditions and does not warp or twist in response to humidity or temperature changes.

' The lay beam 32 adjacent to each end portion is provided with picker stick slots 42, 44. The slot 44 is substantially wider than the slot 42 to permit empty bobbins to pass therethrough when filling changes occur. Each slot 42 and 44 at its outer end portion is somewhat wider than the thickness of the corresponding picker stick 46 which carries at its upper end portion a conventional picker 48. The slot 44 receives a forwardly and downwardly curved plate 50 which forms a chute for the bobbins ejected from the shuttle. At the inner end portion of the plate 5|] is located a downwardly and outwardly inclined plate 52 which engages the butts of the ejected bobbins and directs them outwardly and downwardly into a suitable container.

The right hand end of the lay beam 32 is provided with a shuttle box indicated generally by the reference character 54 and comprises a bottom box plate 56, with a back box plate 58 and a front box plate 66. The bottom box plate 56 and the back box plate 58 are integrally formed. The bottom box plate 56 and the back box plate 58 are preferably formed of cast light weight metal such as aluminum alloy'and machined to provide a fiat surface 6| which is parallel to the top surface of thehorizontal leg 36 of the lay beam 32. The front surface 62 of the back box plate 58 is machined to insure that it is at right angles to the flat surface 6|.

The back box plate 56 extends along only the inner end portion of the shuttle box 54 to permit a binder 66 to be properly positioned just forwardly of a continuation of the plane'of the front surface 62 of the back box plate 58. The binder 66 may be of any usual construction and is pivoted on an eccentrically mounted stud 68 to permit convenient and ready adjustment of the binder 66. The binder 66 is provided with a front face 16 of leather, or other suitable frictional material, which is engaged by the shuttle and acts as a friction surface to assist in checking the shuttle. The binder 66 when engaged by the shuttle swings rearwardly about its pivot stud 66 which swinging movement is resisted by a binder spring 12 secured by a bolt 14 to the depending portion 46 of the lay beam 32. One important function of the binder 66 is to actuate the protector motion, not shown.

The front box plate 66 may be of usual construction but, as illustrated, is in the form of a steel, or other material, stamping having friction face 16 of leather, or other suitable frictional material, and a forwardly extending portion '18 having openings therein through which cap screws 86 extend into threaded openings in the bottom box plate 56 for securing the front box plate 66 in position.

The shuttle box 54 is provided with a top box plate 82 which may be of usual construction but, as shown, is secured to the lay sword 26 by a cap screw 84 at its inner end portion and is supported at its outer end by the pivot stud 68 and held thereagainst by a nut 66'.

The lower face of the shuttle bottom box plate 55 is provided with a plurality of bosses 88 which are carefully machined to provide a plurality of supporting seats for maintaining the bottom box plate with its upper shuttle engaging surface parallel to the top surface of the horizontal portion 36 of the lay beam 32. The thickness of the bottom box plate 56 is made sufiicient to insure that the bottom box plate 56 cannot accidentally be deformed during use.

The shuttle box 54 is assembled as a unit and may be adjusted forwardly and rearwardly as a the lay beam 32.

unit without disturbing the setting of the front box plate 60 or the binder .66. The position of thetop box plate 82 relatively to the front and back box plates is not critical and any slight change in its position will not affect the operation of the other parts. The shuttle box 54 is secured in position by cap screws 90 which extend through openings 92 in the lay beam 32 and into .threaded openings in the bosses 88. The openings 92 in the lay beam 32 are sufficiently large tov permit suflicient forward and rearward movement of the shuttle box 54 to properly position the shuttle box 54 relatively to the reed as will later be described. Rearward and forward movement of the shuttle box 54 relatively tozthe lay beam 32 is controlled by adjusting screws" 94 which extend through horizontal threaded holes 95 in the upstanding portion 30 of the lay beam 32. After the shuttle boxes 54 have been alinedand properly positioned forwardly of the reed, the cap screws 80 are tightened rigidly to secure the shuttle box 54 to the lay beam 32.

The lay is provided with a removable raceplate 98 having an upper surface in alinement with the top surface 6| of the bottom box plate 56.

As illustrated, the raceplate 98 is preferably formed of two parts which are secured together by wood" screws I00 and which are fixed to the lay beam 32 by machine screws I02 threaded into suitable' openings formed in the portion 36 of The raceplate 98 at its right hand end butts against the inner end of the right hand shuttle box 54 and at its left hand end terminates short of the left hand shuttle box 54- to provide a recess I04 for receiving a filling fork of usual construction. The rearward edge portion of the raceplate 98 is provided with a longitudinally extending groove or recess I06, the walls of which engage and support the lower rail I08 of a conventional reed H0. The reed I I0 is provided with a plurality of vertical dents H2 suitably spaced and secured to and between the lower rail I08 and a parallel upper rail II4. The upper rail I I4,fits into a suitable V-shapecl groove I.I6 formed in the lower surface of a hand-rail H8. The hand-rail H8 is preferably formed of a suitable light weight extruded metal such, for example, as aluminum but it is evident that itmay be formed of any suitable material and shaped by any conventional means. hand rail H8 at each end is provided with a vertical slot for receiving a supporting block I20 and is rigidly held thereto by clamping bolts I22. The outer end of each block I20 is provided with a slot I24 in which is received an adjusting nut I 20. Each block I20 is also provided with holes for receiving the threaded shank of a stud I28 which is threaded through the adjusting nut I26. The stud I28 is secured in adjusted position, in a vertical slot I30, formed in the upper end extension of each sword, by a .locking nut I32. The stud I28 is provided with an hexagonal shoulder I2! integral therewith intermediate the ends thereof. After the vertical position of the studs I28 has been de-- termined by engagement of the upper rail II4 of the reed IIO with the walls of the groove H6 in the hand rail II8, the reed III) is squared with the upper surface of the raceplate 98 by turning each of the adjusting nuts I 26 until the reed dents are at right angles to the aforesaid surface. The parts are then locked in position by locking nuts I 34. f The means and method of alining the shuttle boxes has been previously described and it will The 6 be sufiicient at this time to state that the front surfaces of the back box plates are alined and positioned forwardly of the front reed face approximately .008 in. to provide sufiicient clearance to prevent excessive contact between the shuttle and the reed during flight of the shuttle from one box to the other.

The shuttle box construction 54 and the reed supports and also the adjusting mechanism described just above are unique since the shuttle boxes may be alined with each other without the necessity of readjusting the shuttle front and back box plate. Thus, the necessary adjustments are conveniently and quickly made and the parts secured rigidly together in the desired relation.

The right and left hand shuttle boxes 54 are substantially identical except that the left hand shuttle box 54 is not provided with a bobbin chute 50.

The front and back box plates 60 and 58 are spaced apart a distance slightly greater than the width of the shuttle at the entrance of the shuttle box, and the front box plates are inclined slightly toward the outer ends of the surface line of the back box plates as is usual in looms of the present type. Once the front box plate 60 is properly positioned, the cap screws are tightened to secure the front box plate 60 rigidly in position.

It is essential in high speed looms that the picker stick 46 be guided for movement in a path which coincides both with the line of flight and the center line of the shuttle. The picker 48 on the picker stick moves in a substantially straight path parallel to the top surface 6| of the bottom box plate 56. It is, however, necessary to provide means for preventin forward and rearward displacement of the picker stick 46 during operation of the loom. To this end, picker stick guides I36 are provided.- The guides each comprises a pair of spaced parallel members I38, I40 which engage the front and back surface of the picker stick 46. Each plate or member I38, I40 is secured to the under surface of the bottom box plate 56 and on opposite sides of the picker stick slot therein by suitable machine screws I42. Thus, forward and rearward adjustment of the shuttle box 54 will have no effect on the position of the picker 48 which will always remain positioned to engage and drive the shuttle in a straight horizontal path. Thus, the shuttle will be picked out of and into each shuttle box in a straight line and difficulties encountered by erratic flight of the shuttle will be substantially eliminated.

While the construction and operation of the present invention have been described in detail, it may be well to summarize briefly the advantages gained by the present construction. The all metal rigid construction of the lay beam '32 with its fiat smooth surfaces permits easy and convenient assembly of parts and the adjustment thereof to be quickly and accurately made. The unit construction of the shuttle box 54 permits quick and accurate assembly of the constituent parts thereof, which parts may be properly adjusted prior to assembly of the unit on the lay beam 32. The mounting of the reed H0 independently of the shuttle box 54 and the convenient means for squaring the reed I I0 with the lay are other factors which increase the utility of the present construction. The mounting of the shuttle guides I36 on the shuttle box 54 serve to prevent any possible misalinement of the picker 48 and the shuttle.

Having thus described our invention, what we claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United States is:

l. A rigid non-warping metal lay beam of constant, generally T-shaped cross-section and including a vertical web for attachment to the lay swords of a loom, anda horizontal web having a flat top surface for supporting loom parts, said top surface serving as a reference datum for the positioning of said loom parts, said vertical web extending above said flat surface substantially to the level of the shuttle path defined by said supported loom parts to provide a substantial lateral support for said loom parts.

2. A rigid non-warping light metal lay beam of readily extrudible, generally T-shaped crosssection including angularly disposed integral webs, one of said webs havin a fiat surface upon which loom parts are adapted to be positioned for attachment to said beam, said flat surface serving as a reference datum for positioning of said loom parts, the other of said webs being adapted to be attached to the lay swords of a loom and having the surface joining said flat surface disposed at right angles to said flat surface to serve as an additional reference datum for the positioning of loom parts, said other web extending above said flat surface substantially to the level of the shuttle path defined by said supported loom parts.

3. A lay for fiy-shuttle looms comprising a rigid non-warping lay beam having a flat loom part supporting surface horizontally disposed in the front center position of said lay, and another surface disposed at right angles to said flat surface and joined thereto, race plate means having parallel top and bottom surfaces and an edge surface disposed at right angles thereto positioned on said flat surface with said edge surface against said other surface, said race plate mean includin a reed bottom supporting groove disposed parallel to said edge surface, a reed having its bottom in said groove, means for angularly adjusting said reed relative to said groove to square said reed with said fiat surface, shuttle boxes positionable as a unit at each end of said lay beam on said flat surface, each of said shuttle boxes when positioned on said flat surface presenting a bottom shuttle guiding surface parallel with said flat surface and a back shuttle guiding surface at right angles to said flat surface, and means for adjusting the position of said shuttle boxes to align said back surfaces with said reed.

4. A shuttle box for fly-shuttle looms, adapted to be mounted as a unit on a flat surface of a lay beam, comprising a pair of angularly disposed integrally united metal webs, one of said webs presenting a flat shuttle bottom guiding surface, the other of said webs presenting a flat shuttle back guiding surface contiguous with and disposed at right angles to said bottom guiding surface, and means extending from the outer surface of said one web adapted to bear on said flat lay beam surface for attachment of said shuttle box unit to said lay beam and for disposing said shuttle bottom guiding surface and said shuttle back guiding surface respectively parallel and at right angles to said fiat lay beam surface.

5. A shuttle box for fiy-shuttle looms, adapted to be mounted as a unit on a fiat surface of a lay beam, including a pair of angularly disposed integrally united metal webs, one of said webs presenting a flat shuttle bottom guiding surface, said one web being wider than the shuttle path and providing a surface laterally disposed relative to said shuttle bottom guiding surface for supporting shuttle box elements, the other of said webs presenting a flat shuttle back guiding surface contiguous with and disposed at right angles to said bottom guiding surface, and means ex tending from the other surface of said one web adapted to bear on said fiat lay beam surface for attachment of said shuttle box unit to the lay beam and for disposing said bottom shuttle guiding surface and said shuttle back guiding surface respectively parallel and at right angles to said fiat lay beam surface.

6. A shuttle box for fly-shuttle looms, adapted to be mounted as a unit on a flat surface of a lay beam, including a pair of angularly disposed integrally united metal webs, one of said webs presenting a flat shuttle bottom guiding surface, said one web being wider than the shuttle path and providing surface laterally disposed relative to said shuttle bottom guiding surface for supporting shuttle box elements, the other of said webs presenting a flat shuttle back guiding surface contiguous with and disposed at right angles to said shuttle bottom guiding surface, a front box plate supported on said lateral surface and attached to said web, said front box plate being spaced from said back guiding surface to provide a desired shuttle path, and means extending from the outer surface of said one web adapted to bear on said flat lay beam surface for attachment of said shuttle box unit to the lay beam and for disposing said shuttle bottom guiding surface and said shuttle back guiding surface respectively parallel and at right angles to said flat lay beam surface.

'7. A shuttle box for fly-shuttle looms, adapted to be mounted as a unit on a flat surface of a lay beam, including a pair of angularly disposed integrally united metal webs, one of said webs presenting a fiat shuttle bottom guiding surface, said one web being wider than the shuttle path and providing a surface laterally disposed relative to said shuttle bottom guiding surface for supporting lay elements, the other of said webs being disposed intermediate the edges of said one web and presenting a fiat shuttle back guiding surface contiguous with and disposed at right angles to said bottom guiding surface, a shuttle box front plate mounted on said one web adjacent the front edge of said flat surface, a shuttle box binder mounted adjacent the opposite edge of said fiat shuttle bottom guiding surface, and means extending from the outer surface of said one web adapted to bear on said flat lay beam surface for attachment of said shuttle box unit to the lay beam and for disposing said shuttle box bottom guiding surface and said shuttle box back guiding surface respectively parallel and at right angles to said flat lay beam surface.

8. A shuttle box for fiy-shuttle looms, adapted to be mounted as a unit on a flat surface of a lay beam, including a pair of angularly disposed integrally united metal webs, one of said webs presenting a flat shuttle bottom guiding surface, the other of said webs presenting a flat shuttle back guiding surface contiguous with and disposed at right angles to said bottom guiding surface, a picker stick slot in said one web, and

icker stick guide means attached to said one web and depending therefrom, said picker stick guide means being positioned relative to said shuttle back guiding surface to establish a predetermined relation between the shuttlev path and the picker stick path, whereby in any posi- 9 tional'adjustment of said shuttle unit the position of said picker stick path is simultaneously adjusted to maintain the predetermined relation between the shuttle path and the picker stick path.

9. A shuttle box for fly-shuttle looms, adapted to be mounted as a unit on a flat surface of a lay beam, comprising a pair of angularly disposed integrally united metal webs, one of said webs presenting a flat shuttle back guiding surface contiguous with and disposed at right an s to said bottom guiding surface, a picker stick slot in said one web, and picker stick guide means including members on both sides of said slot attached to said one web and positioned relative to said shuttle back guiding surface to locate the picker stick path centrally of the shuttle path, whereby in any positional adjustment of said shuttle box unit the position of the picker stick path is simultaneously adjusted to maintain its original relation with the shuttle path.

EVERETT H. ASHTON. ROBERT G. MAILARD.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

Number Number OTHER REFERENCES The Textile Manufacturer, March 1945, pages 20 109-111; Wartime Developments in Post-War Looms, by Palmer.

(Copy in Div. 21.) 

